Semi Annual System Maintenance
Inside the case
You'll need:
| screwdriver |
| can of compressed air
|
| cotton swabs (do not
use a cotton ball) |
| rubbing alcohol |
| paper towels or
anti-static cloths |
| water |
WARNING
doing this
work incorrectly can result in damage to the
components
Unplug the computer,
disconnect the keyboard & mouse. unplug the monitor,
and disconnect from the computer, I recommend taking
the computer outside the house to blow out the dust
Using a screwdriver, remove the side panel
opposite your motherboard ( the side opposite the
mouse and keyboard connectors) and blow out all the
dust, keeping the nozzle four inches away from the
machine, blow air into the power supply box and into
the fan (from the back of the case), (you may want
to do this outside the house), Last, blow air into
the floppy drive and the cd drives. Cans of
compressed air can be purchased at any electronic
stores ( Staples, RadioShack, Circuit city ). Wipe
the inside of the cover with a lightly moistened
cloth before replacing it. If you have pets, I
recommend you do this every 3 months
Do not use any type of brush to remove
the dust, this
may cause static electricity and damage you
processor, memory, or hard drive.
Outside the case
Run a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol
(It should be damp, but not wet.) around all of the openings on the back of your case.
Give them one swipe with the damp end of the swab
and one swipe with the dry end.
Keyboard
Turn the keyboard upside down and gently shake
it. Most of the yuck and dust will fall out. Take a
can of compressed air and blow into and around the
keys. Next, take a cotton swab and dip it in rubbing
alcohol. (It should be damp, but not wet) Run the
cotton swab around the outside of the keys. Rub the
tops of the keys. If you have a laptop, follow the
same procedure but take extra care with your
machine.
Mouse
Rub the top and bottom of your mouse with a paper
towel dipped in rubbing alcohol.
(It should be damp, but not wet) Open the bottom and
remove the ball. Wash the ball with water and let it
air dry. To clean inside the mouse, dip a cotton
swab in rubbing alcohol (It should be damp, but not wet) and rub all of the
components. Scrape hard-to-remove grime with your
fingernail. Finally, blow air into the opening.
Replace the ball and the cover.
Monitor
Moisten a paper towel or a soft, lint-free cloth
with water (It should be damp,
but not wet). (You can also buy monitor cleaning
products at computer-supply stores.)
Don't spray
liquid directly onto the screen spray the cloth
instead. Wipe the screen gently to remove dust and
fingerprints. Never touch the back of the monitor.
For laptop screens, I suggests buying a special
cleaning solution available at computer stores. Finally, make sure that everything is dry before
you plug in your computer.
Defragment
your hard drive:
I recommend that you
Defragment your computer on a regular basis.
- Click Start, select Programs, select
Accessories, select System Tools, and then
select Disk Defragmenter.
- Click the drive that you wish to Defragment
in the top pane of the Disk Defragmenter window.
- Click the "Defragment" button in the lower
pane.
The system will automatically Defragment your hard
drive, showing the progress, and will offer a
printable report when completed.
Tips:
You must have at least 15% usable free space in
order to Defragment. If the drive is very full, you
may need to move or delete files before running the
Defragment utility. You may want to do an analysis
on the drive to see if defragging is necessary. Just
click the Analyze button next to the Defragment
button. Run the defrag utility at least once per
month to keep your system running well.
Scan hard
drives for errors
The Scandisk utility is not available in Windows
XP. However, you can use the Error-Checking tool in
Windows XP to check the integrity of your hard disk.
To check for file system errors and bad sectors on
your hard disk, follow these steps:
- Double-click My Computer, and then
right-click the local disk that you want to
check.
- Click Properties, and then click Tools.
- Under Error-checking, click Check Now.
- Under Check disk options, select the Scan
for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check
box.
- Click Start.
Delete all temporary Internet files
- In Microsoft Internet Explorer, click the
Tools menu, and then select Internet Options.
- On the General tab, in the Temporary
Internet files section, click Delete Files.
- Click OK
.
